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General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: Cell on Friday 20 February 09 15:30 GMT (UK)
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Hi all,
I don't know where to post this ( here or in the even lighter side?)
Just a simple question: which is the correct English language way to spell Grandad?
I have always spelled it as Grandad , as does my whole family ( British), until recently ( I've been pulled up by spell checkers), so I've started to spell it the other way with two dd's .
It makes sense to me to spell as Granddad, but it looks odd and it is totally alien to me to spell it that way.
Anyone know which is the correct English language spelling?
Kind Regards
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Since both of mine died before I was born, I've never actually had need to spell it in childhood... Although I agree to the logic of 'grand-dad' if you have 'grand-ma'...
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Both are in the dictionary but I tend to use granddad now
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I have always used Grandad, and to me Granddad looks wrong. But I have noticed some greetings cards have Granddad on them - and some Grandad!
No idea which is right - or perhaps both - but I am sticking to Grandad!
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Got around it by using Grandma and Grandpa.
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The Oxford English Dictionary has grand-dad, and grandad, there should be a hyphen in grand-dad which is why granddad looks wrong :)
Stan
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and Grandpa.
... thats what hubby's dad is called. Mine always been Grandad !
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lol well in my house they are .............. Da-da and Pops lol
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Hi all, Thanks for the replies.
yes (Stan), Grand-dad looks correct to me with the hyphen. It looks totally alien as one word and grandad with the only one d is correct ( as I write it). Thanks for clearing that up :)
It's just that I'm teaching my son to spell ( 3 yrs old) ,whilst writing out a birthday card to his grandad I'm starting to question my own everyday basic spelling . I've been pulled up on spell checkers when posting on forums using grandad with one d , so in the end I'm bl**dy confused ??? . Before the internet/spell checkers, I was quite happy with my own old fashioned spelling ( whether it was wrong or right)
Kind regards :)
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Definitely grandad. I also came across this recently in a word processor spell check, I know spell checkers have their uses but sometimes they are just wrong! I blame them for the rogue apostrophe! (Not wishing to trigger another debate on this though!) The grammar check is absolute rubbish - try writing "The staff are having a party". It doesn't recognise the word 'staff' as being plural - presumably because it doesn't have an 's' at the end.
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I was taught (many years ago) to spell the word as 'granddad', but it is more common these days to see it as grandad. You would not spell grandfather as granfather, would you? :)
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Call him grandpa instead - it's easier ! ;D
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I was taught (many years ago) to spell the word as 'granddad', but it is more common these days to see it as grandad. You would not spell grandfather as granfather, would you? :)
Hi,
sorry But I have to disagree on grandad being the recent one .
I think that it is more common to see it as granddad these days. My mum is 69 , my dad is in 70's, both were educated in two different countries within the Uk (my grandparents , bless their souls who were born in the early 1900's also spelled it with one d) .
Both my parents were brought up through the education systems of two different countries within the uk , and both were told to spell it as grandad. I was brought up to spell it the same way through school, so was my hubby ( We are both from different area/schools. I am questioning my own spelling of the word thanks to modern languages the internet. If you asked me how to spell it at 10, 7, 6,5 , etc etc yr old I would have said grandad.
I think ( doesn't mean I'm right or wrong) Granddad is the much more recent one.
Kind Regards:)
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Spell checkers are sadly eroding away the English language. People in Britain are now defaulting to American because it's what Microsoft tells them.
And for the record, I've only known one grandfather (still alive), and he's 'grandpa'. However when referring to the one I never knew it's 'grandad'.
Andrew
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I'm the odd one out. I've always called my dad's dad "Granddad" because I could never figure out why a "d" should be dropped turning him into either gran-dad or grand-ad.
It's grandparent/s, grandfather, grandmother, grandpa, grandma, thus it follows that it would be granddad.
That said I've never looked for the word in a dictionary, just gone with what makes sense in my head.
I avoid confusion when referring to genealogical relastionships by using the more formal grandfather/grandmother option =)
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This is really interesting, I did not realise how long 'grandad' had been in use. I truly thought that it was a modern spelling. I first came across the spelling 'grandad' about 16 years ago having spelt the word with two middle 'd's for over 40 years I thought that I had mispelt it all those years ;D.
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I've always used Grandad irrespective of what any spell checker has suggested to the contrary.
Spell checkers should, in my humble view be used rather as a drunk uses a lamp post - for support rather than illumination. In my work I use the word 'liaison' probably something in the region of 100 times a day and each an every time if its switched on, and with the language set to UK English, the wretched thing still insists it should be 'liason'. Needless to say, it's permanently switched off.
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Spell checkers should, in my humble view be used rather as a drunk uses a lamp post - for support rather than illumination.
What a marvellous was of putting it, Mogsmum! I so agree with you! And with Andrew, who says that spell checkers are eroding the English language.
(As an aside - an interesting point- the word processing application will allow spell checker or spellchecker!)
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This is really interesting, I did not realise how long 'grandad' had been in use.
The Oxford English Dictionary gives these dates for the first use in print.
1819 grand-dad
1865 granddad
1889 Grandad,
1698 Grand Dada
1871 grandada
Stan
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Thanks Stan, I love words and their histories. Fascinating stuff.
FF